Letting Your Children Learn Hard Lessons

My almost 21-year-old daughter bought a puppy a few days ago. She's adorable and looks a lot like the dog pictured above. She's a golden retriever, which I've heard are very sweet and companionable. But puppies are a lot of trouble.

I tried to warn my daughter what she's letting herself in for. In my experience, puppies are ten times harder than any baby. Babies wear diapers and aren't bounding around from morning 'til night weeks after they're born. Puppies, like children, are a 24/7 responsibility.

But she did it anyway. So I got a phone call this morning. She awoke to find the puppy throwing up on her pillow. And while she was cleaning that up, the puppy wet her comforter. I don't want to say I told her so. But I told her so.